Irv Keppel of Milwaukee has just applied for a patent on the special "Drunk Guy" driving gloves...
Posted on 05/29/2005 4:16:10 PM PDT by kingattax
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A Fort Lauderdale man has created a steering wheel that contains a skin sensor that blocks a vehicle from starting or running if the driver is drunk, an invention he thinks could reducing alcohol-related accidents.
Dennis Bellehumeur, 54, hopes the $600 device will become a standard safety feature. He spent 12 years creating the device, which tests the skin on a driver's hands to determine alcohol content. The invention should complete testing this year, said Bellehumeur, who received a U.S. patent this month.
"I hope one day I'll get a call from some guy saying, 'I was drunk and could've killed someone, but because of you, I couldn't start my car,'" said Bellehumeur, a real estate agent and deli owner in Wilton Manors.
His son Jim prompted the invention. In 1989, Jim, then 16, drove drunk on Ontario's streets and crashed into a light pole. He suffered a minor brain injury and spent five years in therapy.
"Thank God no one was killed. It was a real wake-up call. I wanted to do something," Bellehumeur said.
The sensor is installed in the steering wheel or gloves worn by the driver. A two-minute warning precedes the shut-off. The device can be adjusted to each state's alcohol limit.
State Rep. Jack Seiler, D-Wilton Manors, plans to present the device to his colleagues in Tallahassee after it has been properly tested.
A similar device has been on the market for three decades. The "breath alcohol ignition interlock" requires a driver to blow into an instrument connected to the vehicle's ignition system.
James Frank, a research psychologist for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Bellehumeur might have a tough time pitching his invention as a standard feature.
"I'm not sure the auto industry is prepared to accept that for cost reasons," he said. "Neither will the driving public because the majority of them don't drink and drive. We're not there yet."
Drunken driving killed an estimated 17,419 people in 2002, about half the nation's total traffic fatalities, according to the agency
Don't clean your hands with rubbing alcohol before trying to drive.
The more I read about new technology the more I want to keep my '93 Nissan truck running. 268K miles and going strong.
And, when I put cologne on my hands before I run out to the car...?
Irv Keppel of Milwaukee has just applied for a patent on the special "Drunk Guy" driving gloves...
What if the driver is sober and starts driving then starts drinking? Does the car shut off just as the now drunk driver is sitting in front of a speeding locomotive filled with nuclear waste?
****
Absurd.... try inventing one that tests for driving ability.
Maybe this guy could come up with a way to retrofit all Korans so they explode whenever they are touched?
There ya go! Send him to Iraq and if you have explosive residue on your hands, your suicide car won't start. The Koran could be treated simiarly.
It will never happen, my point is that it would be good if drunk people couldn't drive, thats all...
Big Brother is right around the corner and coming fast.
..you MAD freaks...
dude I'm a 40 year old contractor and I drink an embarrassing amount of alcohol, so you should direct your rant elsewhere...
Sorry Scott, you sounded a little like you know who...... ;-)
Most people install a custom steering wheel wrap or cover on the wheel for comfort and for different gripping abilities. This would reduce this thing to useless.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.